Paper Crafter's Library

Welcome to Day 5 of Ranger Week on the Paper Crafter’s Library blog as we finish our week-long focus on Tim Holtz Distress Stains. Throughout the course of this week we’ve shared with you LOTS of free video tutorials on a range of different techniques using Distress Stains, and we’ve shown you some examples of projects incorporating these techniques.  To top off the week, Ranger has graciously donated five sets of twelve Distress Stains.  We’ll be picking one winner from each of the posts from this week.  All five winners will be announced today Friday, April 20th at 4 pm EST.  Because we’re late putting up today’s post, we’re going to give away a BONUS set of 12 Distress Stains on Monday.

You can keep up to date on what’s going on at Ranger by visiting their blog, and their Facebook Page.

Today we again have three different videos for you all variations all related to the Blended Distress Technique.  Yesterday we featured a couple of variations on the Wrinkle Free Distress technique which involved applying different colors of Distress Stains to your non-stick craft mat and then swiping your card stock or tag through the stains.  The Blended Distress Technique involves the application of water – so you are applying your Distress Stains to a wet surface.

In the card shown below Sophia uses the Blended Distress Technique to create the lightbulb, and the Ghosted Distress Embossing Technique for the background of the card.  We have a free video both on the Blended Distress Technique, as well as the Ghosted Distress Embossing Technique.

Blended Distress Technique Featuring Distress Stains

Ghosted Distress Embossing Technique

Blended Distress Variation Featuring Distress Stains

In the card below I use a variation of the Blended Distress Technique.  Instead of dragging the stains across my wet card stock, I use more of a splatting motions, giving you a different effect.

The video on how to create both the cards from start to finish will be available to our Paper Crafter’s Library members.

A Bit About Paper Crafter’s Library

The world of paper crafting is HUGE! Whether you are a beginner, or you’ve been creating for years, the sheer number of different products, tools, techniques and project ideas can be overwhelming. After spending 6 years helping thousands of paper crafters around the world become more successful in the creative space through my series of kits, digital tutorials and online classes, I began looking for a new approach to education. In 2011 I launched Paper Crafter’s Library – the first, and still to this day, only website that provides an all-in-one learning solution for paper crafters. With almost 800 videos currently in the library and 4-5 new videos added each week, Paper Crafter’s Library offers comprehensive training on products, tools, techniques, and project ideas. From beginner through to advanced, whether your interest is in stamping, card making, scrapbooking, creating 3D items or altered art – you’ll find all the resources you need to navigate the world of paper crafting in ONE place, organized and indexed so that it’s quick and easy to find.

Here at Paper Crafter’s Library, we make a great effort to provide tons of FREE content in the form of video tutorials.  You can access our free videos from our Public Video Library Page by clicking on the categories that say “this section contains one or more complimentary videos” underneath the link.  By signing up for our free email newsletter,  you’ll also receive a free weekly video tutorial.  Another great source of ongoing inspiration and information is the Paper Crafter’s Library Facebook page. Access to the FULL library and to our premium content is a members-only benefit, for which there is a monthly fee (like signing up for an ongoing online class).  If this interests you, you can check out the Benefits of Becoming a Member.

Distress Stain Give-Away

As we mentioned at the beginning of this post, every day this week we’ll be giving away one set of 12 Distress Stains – to a total of 5 winners.  All you have to do to enter is to leave us a comment on each day’s post.  You can expect the posts to be published before 12 pm EST each day this week.  All five winners will be announced on Friday, April 20th at 4 pm EST.

P.S.  We’d appreciate it if you’d spread the word about Ranger week on your blog, FB and/or Twitter!  The more people that visit and comment, the more we have companies like Ranger sponsoring our site with great products we can give away to you!

P.P.S.  We encourage you to stop by the Ranger Blog to thank them for their great give-away, and let them know we sent you!

Welcome to Day 4 of Ranger Week on the Paper Crafter’s Library blog as we continue with our week-long focus on Tim Holtz Distress Stains. Throughout the course of this week we’re going to share with you a TON of different free video tutorials on a range of different techniques using Distress Stains, we’ll also show you some examples of projects incorporating these techniques.  To top off the week, Ranger has graciously donated five sets of twelve Distress Stains.  Each day this week someone will win this fabulous collection of Distress Stains.  All five winners will be announced on Friday, April 20th at 4 pm EST.  You can keep up to date on what’s going on at Ranger by visiting their blog, and their Facebook Page.

Today we have three different videos for you.  In the first video I’m going to share with you more in depth about Picket Fence Distress Stain which is a white Distress Stain.  It’s different than all the other Distress Stains because it’s only semi-transluscent, whereas all the other Distress Stains are totally translucent (meaning you can see through them).  Picket Fence has a white pigment in it which is what gives it it’s color, along with some opacity.  The more layers of Picket Fence you apply to your surface, the more opaque it becomes.  There are so many different things that you can do with Picket Fence both on it’s own and in combination with the other Distress Stains, that we thought it warranted a video of it’s own.

Introduction To The Picket Fence Distress Stain

Today we’re also going to share with you two variations of Tim Holtz’s Wrinkle Free Distress Technique.  In the first video Sophia will show you the traditional Wrinkle Free Distress Technique, and then in the second video she shows you the Wrinkle Free Distress Technique incorporating Picket Fence. She uses both techniques in the card below.  The greeting label using the Wrinkle Free Distress Technique with Picket Fence, and the background of the card (the sunburst pattern) uses the regular Wrinkle Free Distress Technique.  Please note that in the videos, the give-away date is listed as Monday, April 16th, the date on which we announce all five winners is actually Friday, April 20th (tomorrow) at 4 pm EST.

Wrinkle Free Distress technique

Wrinkle Free Distress With Picket Fence Technique

The finished card includes a colouring with Distress Markers technique.  The video on how to create the card from start to finish is available to our Paper Crafter’s Library members.

A Bit About Paper Crafter’s Library

The world of paper crafting is HUGE! Whether you are a beginner, or you’ve been creating for years, the sheer number of different products, tools, techniques and project ideas can be overwhelming. After spending 6 years helping thousands of paper crafters around the world become more successful in the creative space through my series of kits, digital tutorials and online classes, I began looking for a new approach to education. In 2011 I launched Paper Crafter’s Library – the first, and still to this day, only website that provides an all-in-one learning solution for paper crafters. With almost 800 videos currently in the library and 4-5 new videos added each week, Paper Crafter’s Library offers comprehensive training on products, tools, techniques, and project ideas. From beginner through to advanced, whether your interest is in stamping, card making, scrapbooking, creating 3D items or altered art – you’ll find all the resources you need to navigate the world of paper crafting in ONE place, organized and indexed so that it’s quick and easy to find.  

Here at Paper Crafter’s Library, we make a great effort to provide tons of FREE content in the form of video tutorials.  You can access our free videos from our Public Video Library Page by clicking on the categories that say “this section contains one or more complimentary videos” underneath the link.  By signing up for our free email newsletter,  you’ll also receive a free weekly video tutorial.  Another great source of ongoing inspiration and information is the Paper Crafter’s Library Facebook page. Access to the FULL library and to our premium content is a members-only benefit, for which there is a monthly fee (like signing up for an ongoing online class).  If this interests you, you can check out the Benefits of Becoming a Member.

Distress Stain Give-Away

As we mentioned at the beginning of this post, every day this week we’ll be giving away one set of 12 Distress Stains – to a total of 5 winners.  All you have to do to enter is to leave us a comment on each day’s post.  You can expect the posts to be published before 12 pm EST each day this week.  All five winners will be announced on Friday, April 20th at 4 pm EST.

P.S.  We’d appreciate it if you’d spread the word about Ranger week on your blog, FB and/or Twitter!  The more people that visit and comment, the more we have companies like Ranger sponsoring our site with great products we can give away to you!

P.P.S.  We encourage you to stop by the Ranger Blog to thank them for their great give-away, and let them know we sent you!

If you are interested in purchasing the products we are featuring this week, they are all carried by our trusted partner Simon Says Stamp. They have fantastic customer service and great shipping rates. Simply click on any image below to be directed to the product.

Welcome to Day 3 of Ranger Week, as with continue with our week-long focus on Tim Holtz Distress Stains. Throughout the course of this week we’re going to share with you a TON of different free video tutorials on a range of different techniques using Distress Stains, we’ll also show you some examples of projects incorporating these techniques.  To top off the week, Ranger has graciously donated five sets of twelve Distress Stains.  Each day this week someone will win this fabulous collection of Distress Stains.  All five winners will be announced on Friday, April 20th at 4 pm EST. You can keep up to date on what’s going on at Ranger by visiting their blog, and their Facebook Page.

In today’s video, Sophia is going to show you how easy it is to create a gorgeous background by stamping WITH the Distress Stains.  The technique we are featuring today is called Watercolor Stamping with Distress Stains.  It involved applying the Distress Stains to a stamp, misting it with water, and then stamping onto your surface.  Although Sophia applied this technique to a Hero Arts Background stamp, it can be used on any solid image stamp.

When you are stamping with Distress Stains, it’s important to keep in mind that Distress Stains are much more fluid than your traditional dye-based ink pads or pigment ink pads.  No matter how you apply it, you are NOT going to get a crisp, clean impression, the same way that you do with dye-based or pigment ink pads. If this is the look you are going for, then know that you won’t be happy with the outcome.  However, if you like the watercolor look, then that is exactly what you’ll get with Distress Stains.   By knowing and understanding the properties of your medium and knowing how to work with it, you’ll get results you love. In this technique Sophia plays up the fluidity of the Distress Stains, by misting on water, and then applying it to a watercolor paper. She also shows you what kind of effect you’d get working on other surfaces.

Sophia also shows a variation on this technique, where she replaces the water with Perfect Pearls Mist – another awesome Ranger product.

Watercolor Stamping With Distress Stains

*Please note that the video mentions that all 5 winners will be announced on Monday April 16th.  The correct date should be Friday April 20th at 4pm EST.

The finished card includes a colouring with Distress Markers technique.  The video on how to create the card from start to finish is available to our Paper Crafter’s Library members.

A Bit About Paper Crafter’s Library

The world of paper crafting is HUGE! Whether you are a beginner, or you’ve been creating for years, the sheer number of different products, tools, techniques and project ideas can be overwhelming. After spending 6 years helping thousands of paper crafters around the world become more successful in the creative space through my series of kits, digital tutorials and online classes, I began looking for a new approach to education. In 2011 I launched Paper Crafter’s Library – the first, and still to this day, only website that provides an all-in-one learning solution for paper crafters. With almost 800 videos currently in the library and 4-5 new videos added each week, Paper Crafter’s Library offers comprehensive training on products, tools, techniques, and project ideas. From beginner through to advanced, whether your interest is in stamping, card making, scrapbooking, creating 3D items or altered art – you’ll find all the resources you need to navigate the world of paper crafting in ONE place, organized and indexed so that it’s quick and easy to find.

Here at Paper Crafter’s Library, we make a great effort to provide tons of FREE content in the form of video tutorials.  You can access our free videos from our Public Video Library Page by clicking on the categories that say “this section contains one or more complimentary videos” underneath the link.  By signing up for our free email newsletter,  you’ll also receive a free weekly video tutorial.  Another great source of ongoing inspiration and information is the Paper Crafter’s Library Facebook page. Access to the FULL library and to our premium content is a members-only benefit, for which there is a monthly fee (like signing up for an ongoing online class).  If this interests you, you can check out the Benefits of Becoming a Member.

Distress Stain Give-Away

As we mentioned at the beginning of this post, every day this week we’ll be giving away one set of 12 Distress Stains – to a total of 5 winners.  All you have to do to enter is to leave us a comment on each day’s post.  You can expect the posts to be published before 12 pm EST each day this week.  All five winners will be announced on Friday, April 20th at 4 pm EST.

P.S.  We’d appreciate it if you’d spread the word about Ranger week on your blog, FB and/or Twitter!  The more people that visit and comment, the more we have companies like Ranger sponsoring our site with great products we can give away to you!

P.P.S.  We encourage you to stop by the Ranger Blog to thank them for their great give-away, and let them know we sent you!

If you are interested in purchasing the products we are featuring this week, they are all carried by our trusted partner Simon Says Stamp.  They have fantastic customer service and great shipping rates. Simply click on any image below to be directed to the product.

Welcome to Day 2 of Ranger Week, as with continue with our week-long focus on Tim Holtz Distress Stains. Throughout the course of this week we’re going to share with you a TON of different free video tutorials on a range of different techniques using Distress Stains, we’ll also show you some examples of projects incorporating these techniques.  To top off the week, Ranger has graciously donated five sets of twelve Distress Stains.  Each day this week someone will win this fabulous collection of Distress Stains.  All five winners will be announced on Friday, April 20th at 4 pm EST. You can keep up to date on what’s going on at Ranger by visiting their blog, and their Facebook Page.

Today’s video continues on with a technique I shared with you in the “Introduction to Distress Stains” video we posted on Day 1 of Ranger week when I showed you how Distress Stain can be applied to fabrics (including ribbon and fabric embellishments).  In that video I mentioned some of the great canvas resist products that are on the market.  In today’s video, Paper Crafter’s Library Senior Educator/Designer Sophia Landry introduces you to the “Canvas Resist Technique” – showing you how easy it is to create your own canvas resist embellishments.  Sophia uses this technique to create the leaves that you see on the “Popping Poppy” card below.

Canvas Resist With Distress Stains Technique

*Please note that the video mentions that all 5 winners will be announced on Monday April 16th.  The correct date should be Friday April 20th at 4pm EST.

The finished card includes another resist technique, this time using Distress Inks.  The video on how to create the card from start to finish is available to our Paper Crafter’s Library members.

A Bit About Paper Crafter’s Library

The world of paper crafting is HUGE! Whether you are a beginner, or you’ve been creating for years, the sheer number of different products, tools, techniques and project ideas can be overwhelming. After spending 6 years helping thousands of paper crafters around the world become more successful in the creative space through my series of kits, digital tutorials and online classes, I began looking for a new approach to education. In 2011 I launched Paper Crafter’s Library – the first, and still to this day, only website that provides an all-in-one learning solution for paper crafters. With almost 800 videos currently in the library and 4-5 new videos added each week, Paper Crafter’s Library offers comprehensive training on products, tools, techniques, and project ideas. From beginner through to advanced, whether your interest is in stamping, card making, scrapbooking, creating 3D items or altered art – you’ll find all the resources you need to navigate the world of paper crafting in ONE place, organized and indexed so that it’s quick and easy to find.

Here at Paper Crafter’s Library, we make a great effort to provide tons of FREE content in the form of video tutorials.  You can access our free videos from our Public Video Library Page by clicking on the categories that say “this section contains one or more complimentary videos” underneath the link.  By signing up for our free email newsletter,  you’ll also receive a free weekly video tutorial.  Another great source of ongoing inspiration and information is the Paper Crafter’s Library Facebook page. Access to the FULL library and to our premium content is a members-only benefit, for which there is a monthly fee (like signing up for an ongoing online class).  If this interests you, you can check out the Benefits of Becoming a Member.

Distress Stain Give-Away

As we mentioned at the beginning of this post, every day this week we’ll be giving away one set of 12 Distress Stains – to a total of 5 winners.  All you have to do to enter is to leave us a comment on each day’s post.  You can expect the posts to be published before 12 pm EST each day this week.  All five winners will be announced on Friday, April 20th at 4 pm EST.

P.S.  We’d appreciate it if you’d spread the word about Ranger week on your blog, FB and/or Twitter!  The more people that visit and comment, the more we have companies like Ranger sponsoring our site with great products we can give away to you!

P.P.S.  We encourage you to stop by the Ranger Blog to thank them for their great give-away, and let them know we sent you!

If you are interested in purchasing the products we are featuring this week, they are all carried by our trusted partner Simon Says Stamp.  They have fantastic customer service and great shipping rates. Simply click on any image below to be directed to the product.

This week we’re thrilled to bring you Ranger week on the Paper Crafter’s Library Blog! Throughout the course of this week we’ll be focusing on Tim Holtz Distress Stains and sharing a TON of different free video tutorials on a range of different techniques using Distress Stains, we’ll also show you some examples of projects incorporating these techniques.  To top off the week, Ranger has graciously donated five sets of twelve Distress Stains.  Each day this week someone will win this fabulous collection of Distress Stains.  All five winners will be announced on Friday, April 20th at 4 pm EST. You can keep up to date on what’s going on at Ranger by visiting their blog, and their Facebook Page.

For those of you that may be unfamiliar with Ranger, here’s a little bit of background:

Ranger was founded in 1929 and originally manufactured an exclusive line of commercial ink products for the U.S. banking industry. In 1979, Ranger developed the first art stamp pads in unique, vibrant colors. Until 1998, Ranger’s primary business was private label products for stamp manufacturers. Ranger then began marketing product lines of its own beginning with inks and eventually developing embossing powders. With a continuous focus on innovation, they have developed numerous additional successful lines, which have become popular worldwide. 

Ranger is well known for bringing quality inks, embossing powders and innovative craft products to the arts and crafts market worldwide. Their company has a proven track record of excellence in product development and has won several awards of achievement in the industry. Their mission is to provide a fun, creative and successful experience for artists and crafters, and they accomplish this by continuously developing exciting new products, combined with a comprehensive program of educational support.

Ranger prides itself on the education they offer about their products. To start, their packaging is filled with an abundance of information, techniques and ideas to spark the creative imagination. Additionally, extensive information for projects, tips and techniques is available on their website at www.rangerink.com. 

Ranger is very proud of the fact that all of their inks, embossing powders, paints, dimensional glitters, glues and stamp cleaners are manufactured  in the USA. Their products are made in their facility located in Tinton Falls, New Jersey as well as a satellite location in Montrose, Pennsylvania.

First off, we wanted to start by giving you a good overview of Distress Stains – what they are, what they are used for and how to use them:

Introduction To Distress Stains

Because Distress Stains were designed for quick and easy coverage of backgrounds and large areas, we wanted to start off the week with a simple background technique using one color of Distress Stain.  This background technique was used in the card you see pictured below, but as I show you in the video, it can be used on canvases, in art journals…really anything you can imagine.

Creating a Distress Stain Background

Here’s another example of a super simple application of Distress Stains.  This project was created by Tracy, one of our Paper Crafter’s Library Designer/Educators. It involves simply swiping different colors of Distress Stain onto a wet water-colour paper background.  The video for this card  is available to our Paper Crafter’s Library members. As the week progresses, you’re going to see all sorts of different ideas and techniques featuring Distress Stains, with projects that increase in complexity.

A Bit About Paper Crafter’s Library

The world of paper crafting is HUGE! Whether you are a beginner, or you’ve been creating for years, the sheer number of different products, tools, techniques and project ideas can be overwhelming. After spending 6 years helping thousands of paper crafters around the world become more successful in the creative space through my series of kits, digital tutorials and online classes, I began looking for a new approach to education. In 2011 I launched Paper Crafter’s Library – the first, and still to this day, only website that provides an all-in-one learning solution for paper crafters. With almost 800 videos currently in the library and 4-5 new videos added each week, Paper Crafter’s Library offers comprehensive training on products, tools, techniques, and project ideas. From beginner through to advanced, whether your interest is in stamping, card making, scrapbooking, creating 3D items or altered art – you’ll find all the resources you need to navigate the world of paper crafting in ONE place, organized and indexed so that it’s quick and easy to find.

Here at Paper Crafter’s Library, we make a great effort to provide tons of FREE content in the form of video tutorials.  You can access our free videos from our Public Video Library Page by clicking on the categories that say “this section contains one or more complimentary videos” underneath the link.  By signing up for our free email newsletter,  you’ll also receive a free weekly video tutorial.  Another great source of ongoing inspiration and information is the Paper Crafter’s Library Facebook page. Access to the FULL library and to our premium content is a members-only benefit, for which there is a monthly fee (like signing up for an ongoing online class).  If this interests you, you can check out the Benefits of Becoming a Member.

Distress Stain Give-Away

As we mentioned at the beginning of this post, every day this week we’ll be giving away one set of 12 Distress Stains – to a total of 5 winners.  All you have to do to enter is to leave us a comment on each day’s post.  You can expect the posts to be published before 12 pm EST each day this week.  All five winners will be announced on Friday, April 20th at 4 pm EST.

P.S.  We’d appreciate it if you’d spread the word about Ranger week on your blog, FB and/or Twitter!  The more people that visit and comment, the more we have companies like Ranger sponsoring our site with great products we can give away to you!

P.P.S.  We encourage you to stop by the Ranger Blog to thank them for their great give-away, and let them know we sent you!

If you are interested in purchasing the products we are featuring this week, they are all carried by our trusted partner Simon Says Stamp.  They have fantastic customer service and great shipping rates. Simply click on any image below to be directed to the product.